Note: This is a review regarding the Dealtree managed Best Buy Trade-In program.

I wish I had stumbled across this site prior to utilizing the Best Buy Trade-In program. As another reviewer wrote, "I should have known this was a too good to be true program".

I purchased a new HP laptop from Best Buy on Thanksgiving Day. Found the Trade-In program and decided to send in my wife's 2-year old Lenovo laptop. Based upon the trade-in calculator, I was to receive a $152.00 Best Buy gift card. After using DBAN to wipe the hard drive, (a process that took 10 solid hours to complete), I packaged the unit, printed the pre-paid shipping label, and sent the laptop to them. So far, so good.

Now the problem begins. A day after Dealtree receives the laptop they claim the unit has $0 trade-in value because it is not working. They state the unit is "intermittently powering off". Impossible given that I had just run a 10+ hour disk drive wipe on the system without any power problems.

I called Dealtree and asked to speak to a manager. Instead, I was routed to a voice message system. Left a message, suprise, no return call.

I e-mail them and request that they ship my laptop, (note that this is still my property), back to me. They indicate it will cost me $27.00 to have the unit returned to me. Classic "bait-and-switch". Now they are holding my property hostage and refusing to send it to me until I pay their ridiculous shipping costs (sounds like extortion to me). What is more interesting is that one of the replies I received via e-mail from Dealtree customer service implied that "they don't have to return the unit to me since it is now their property". Umm... no, read section 8 of the Best Buy Trade-In Terms & Conditions... it clearly states that the device does not become the property of Dealtree/Best Buy until we reach agreement on a trade-in value. I clearly disagree with $0.00.

Despite multiple attempts to speak with a supervisor, nobody ever calls me back and I am never allowed to speak with a supervisor. I paraphrased the latest reply I received from Dealtree below:

Dealtree Customer Service: "I have spoken to the Trade In Manager and she informed me that you were emailed previously in response to an email you sent them. Here it is again. Please do not call us again regarding this unless you are calling to make a payment."

Those are their exact words as contained in an e-mail I received. Note that I received this e-mail immediately after speaking with this Dealtree customer service person requesting to speak with a supervisor. After I gave this gentleman my contact information for the 4th time, I proceeded to ask when I should expect a return call. I was met with a "click" and then a dialtone.

I hope others stumble across this site and this review before attempting to do business with Dealtree. Based upon all the other reviews here, it would appear that my experience is anything but an isolated case. Very disappointing.

Lastly, they do business on eBay, (selling the items others are trading in), as dealtree-auctions and 2ndturn. I wonder how many of their items are devices like mine, where they essentially held the unit hostage.

Seller (and buyer) beware. Recognize that once you send your hardware to them, you lose all leverage. There is nothing to prevent them from "finding any defect they so choose", refusing to give you the value they quoted, and then forcing you to pay to get your hardware returned to you.

Don't make the same mistake I did. I'm still fighting to get my laptop back.